Day 3

Sunday, 16th September
Bourke - Tambo

Bourke
Enngonia
Barringun
Cunnumulla
Wylandra
Charleville
Augathella
Tambo

Distance Traveled

Today - 656 km

Total - 1480 km

Blog

Today I want to make some time up. I only want to plant a "Back of Bouke" and "Border" cache, so they shouldn't take me too long.

We managed to pack up without any problems. I took everything off the roof rack put it all into the trailer. This felt much more comfortable.

I planted the "Back of Bourke" cache, not too far out of town, but about 500m off the road. It took me a while to find the right spot, but I felt very isolated and definately out the back of bouke.

The countryside deteriated a lot after this. It just got dryer and dryer. Grass disappeared and the trees looked very thirsty.

There were huge plains where the only folliage was dead brown tussucks.

There were a few road trains and lots of dead roos from road kills. A dead roo about every 50m.

It was at this point that I noticed that other travellers were waving to us. We waved back. This waving business went started with other tourers and later in the trip it was every car, truck or caravan.

Cunnumulla was a lovely oasis in the middle of this arid landscape. The town seemed happy and everyone had a green lawn.

I kept driving and didn't fuel at Cunnumulla. I suddenly got this dread that we should have and we wouldn't make it to Charleville. It was the next fuel stop, 150km away.

We were passing this little town called Wylandra that had a fuel sign, so we stopped. The town only had a couple of very wide dusty streets.

We found the fuel bowser down on this back street behind the pub. It had a sign to say "If you want fuel, then ask at the pub." As we were looking and taking photos a local pulled in and got fuel. "Hey, this is real". We pulled in and filled at $1.40 a litre, by a mostly toothless publican. The fuel was 11cents over the next town, but I was very happy to pay it. We then went down to his pub for icecreams.

We wished him rain and then hit the road.

The road to Charleville was super dry.

Charleville had signs about their flood in the 90s. They were isolated for months back then.

We stopped and looked at the Steiger rain making machine. Bummer this machine (cannon) didn't help them get rain in the 1910s.

We kept going to get to Tambo, so we could stay the night and see the Tambo bears in the morning.

The countryside on this side of Charleville became very green, but when I walked out on it, it was brittle under my feet.

There were heaps of prickly pear trees, 3 metres tall. Never seen anything like it. The ones that grew around Gilgandra were only a metre tall at the most. Ben and I went out to get a photo and that was when we realised how dry it really was. The ground was cracked and the green plants would crumble under your feet.

We set up camp and then found a nice diner for dinner with a nice outside wooden verandah and garden.

This was definitely a different part of the country. Everyone with their 2 gallon hats.

I felt very naked without my hat.

Out the Back of Bourke.

Getting some red dirt as we head further outback.

Enngonia. Another tiny town.

The local football oval at Enngonia.

Approaching the ghost town of Barringun.

Barringun - Ghost Town. Used to have 4 pubs, now has only 4 people. There are still street signs, but no houses.

We should be going to a lot of these places until Mount Isa.

Entering Queensland.

Over the border into Queensland outback.

A collection of road trains.

Emus in the wild

The landscape, although barron, keeps changing every couple of kms.

Cunnamulla is a great little oasis in this outback landscape.

The old and new. I will let you work out which is which.

Outback art. This area is going to be a flora reserve in the near future.

The shed of the future flora reserve.

The Cunnamulla Fella, made infamous by Slim Dusty the Country Music Singer.

The Cunnamulla main street. No water restrictions in this town.

The little township of Wyandra

Here are the local fuel bowsers at Wyandra. Yes they work.

Here is a bloke getting his car filled at Wyandra. Hey, that's me!

The red landscape. Things are getting even more barron.

Charleville. Another outback oasis.

Charleville also was flooded in the 1990 floods. It stayed cut off for a long time.

These are old rain making machines (cannons). They were trying to break the drought in the early 1900s. They didn't succeed.

Augathella. Another town on the road north.

Flatness. There is a distant road train coming.

Only a small one. Most are 3 trailers on this road.

Something likes to grow out here. I have never seen prickly pear grow more than 1 metre high. Here are florish.

A quick roadstop. Toilet anyone?

Tambo. We are now getting into ranch type country.

Here is the trailer unfolded. Lots of room and comfort.